Italian marines issue rocks Parliament; PM talks tough

The issue of the two M V Enrica Lexie Italian marines rocked Parliament on Wednesday, with the opposition slamming a hapless government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a stern warning on the matter: “They have violated every rule of diplomatic discourse and call into question solemn commitments given by an accredited representative of a government. If they do not keep their word, there will be consequences for our relations with Italy.”

“Italy’s unacceptable actions must be the first recorded instance of state-sponsored abduction,” Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.

India had allowed the marines, Massimilian Latorre and Salvatore Girone, to return home to celebrate Christmas, after which they returned as promised. The government let them go to Italy again to cast vote. The Italian ambassador to India, Daniele Mancini, had promised that the duo would return to stand trial. Italy announced on Monday it would not send them back.

The opposition also frequently referred to the “Italian connection”, alluding to Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s Italian origin. The opposition also demanded the arrest of Mancini, who had stood as “sovereign guarantee” before the Supreme Court.

Officially, the government is maintaining that they are awaiting the response of the Italian ambassador, who met Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai yesterday. Mathai, when asked whether the ambassadsor would be given marching orders, said: “India will wait for Italy's response before deciding on future action.”  

The M V Enrica Lexie incident happened on February 15, 2012, off the coast of Alappuzha in Kerala when the two Italian marines shot two Indian fishermen, Ajesh Binki and Valentine, mistaking them to be pirates.